Nigeria Reports Suspected Iranian Arms Shipment to UN

Nigeria has reported to the United Nations that it seized an alleged Iranian arms shipment last month.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia said Monday his government informed the U.N. Security Council of the shipment of rockets and other weapons that were intercepted by Nigerian security forces in Lagos. Officials are not sure of the intended destination of the weapons.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the issue a "misunderstanding" and said it has been settled. He also said an Iranian national in Nigeria offered officials proof that the weapons were being shipped by a private company to an unnamed West Africa nation.

News reports say Nigerian officials questioned one of two Iranian men who are believed to be linked to the shipment, but that the second man claimed diplomatic immunity.

The reports say investigators believe the men are part of an elite Revolutionary Guards unit called al-Quds.

Iran is under four sets of U.N. sanctions because of the dispute over its nuclear program, which the West suspects is masking a drive to build weapons. Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes only.